Falling off the Fiery Edge
by Nuclear Hell Raven
Summary: Even in the hellish demon world of Makai, sometimes the status quo cannot last forever. How will the young gatekeeper, her vampire best friend, and the newly-arrived oarfish messenger survive as their world begins to fade away before their very eyes? Beyond that, however, surviving each other may be the more pressing crisis on the dark, fiery horizon.


I don't know who was the first guy to refer to something as being "Hell on Earth", but I've got a gut feeling he was referring to Makai at the time. I mean, just stop and think a moment about everything this oh-so wonderful place has to offer: miasma thick as pea soup dripping from every corner, wind-torn deserts turning into crystalline forests seemingly out of nowhere, skies perpetually a nasty shade of dried blood... Not exactly your ideal vacation destination, that's for sure, though the tourism industry would certainly disagree. People really need to stop recommending to each other to "go to hell".

Oh yeah, and it's got demons, too. Lots and lots of demons. Lady Shinki really has a thing for the species, since it's just about the only thing she'll mass produce into the land. What a waste, really. If you're going to be Lord High Empress, Goddess, Demon Lady or whatever (seems like she adds a new title to her name every month or so), you could at least put in a little diversity into the loyal subjects you rule over. Just because it's called "The Land of Demons", there's no reason why you couldn't add in some bunnies, aliens, or, hell, maybe _moray eels_ to shake things up. I mean, it's really cool to go around and boast about being a full-fledged demon, an irredeemably evil character of lore who has strayed from the path of righteousness to embrace the ultimate heinous power of black magic, but it loses its shock value when every single person I meet on the street can say the same thing right back at me.

Maybe I'm a being a bit harsh on my home world; I don't intend to be a bratty teenage girl who pulls a temper tantrum when life is served to her on a bronze spoon instead of a silver one. Howling, despair-filled wastelands of tortured spirits aside, Makai isn't a horrible place to live in. The people are pretty nice and easygoing, and a typical morning will usually consist of discussing last night's exploits of capturing vulnerable souls over a nice, steaming-hot cup of tea or coffee. Sure, demons are evil creatures hellbent on dragging humanity into complete submission, but that doesn't mean they're not friendly townsfolk who'll go out of their way to lend a hand if you've got a problem. Baking a cake and find out you're a cup or two short on flour or flesh, for instance? Don't sweat it; it's only a matter of time before someone comes knocking on your door, a chipper grin on their face and a neatly-wrapped package of the missing ingredient in their hands.

If you're an early-bird like me, walking down the main roads to get your business done, you'll be hard-pressed not to hear some variant of polite small talk erupting from the hustle and bustle. "Mornin', Luize!" "Why, good morning to you, Yuki-san! Such lovely weather we're having, isn't it?" "Yeah, sure is! I was expecting we were due for acid rain showers, so the overcast smog is a real nice surprise!" "Yes, indeed! In fact, I was just about to take a bit of a stroll through the desert before heading off to work; would you care to join me?" "Thanks, but I gotta go meet Mai-chan at the tundra and hang out with her. Some other time, maybe?" "Why, certainly! Take care, and enjoy yourself!" So far as I know, no demon has ever suffered from diabetes, but with a steady dosage of these sickeningly sweet exchanges that make the devils sound like harmless housewives, it's a real possibility. I should probably get myself checked out just in case before it's too late.

I know I must sound pretty ungrateful to live in such a place like a friendly, close-knit village and be complaining about it like this, but I just can't really help it too much. Who would have ever guessed that living in the realm of the darkest, most depraved species of monster could be so, well, _boring_? It's not as though I'm just a whiny little adolescent dreaming about escaping her mundane life and suddenly finding herself thrust into a new life of adventure and peril when she inexplicably falls into the magical, sealed-away world and meets a slew of fantastic demons as new friends and enemies. That's where I am right now! I _am_ a demon of Makai. My duty is to go out into the world every day and act as official gatekeeper to the land, study black magic, worship our Empress and Goddess and Et Cetera Shinki, and function in society. If you're looking for a fantasy world to spice up your everyday life and keep you on your toes via horrifying, scary, awesome danger, Makai should probably not be a top item on your list.

I suppose I'm just a bit disappointed that I do live in such a fantastic land, and there hasn't been anything "fantastic" about it I've encountered. But I wasn't made to yearn for a different life; at least, I don't think Lady Shinki was thinking, "All right, let's build this gate-guarding demon with a buttload of restlessness and dissatisfaction just for kicks!" when she created me. Of course, there's no way to be sure. You remember everything your parents were saying about how they wanted you to turn out as you were spilling out of your mother's uterus?

I guess what I'm saying is, life in Makai isn't bad. I've got a furnished home with a really comfy bed to come back to every night, some of the nicest friends you could imagine, enough food to satisfy my belly and then some, and the security of being in a safe place for my kind. It's just a letdown to know that, even with all of its dark and creepy landscapes, Makai is a pretty mundane place to live. And if the proclaimed "Demon World" is that normal and unexciting, the rest of the world must be even worse. There's no wondrous land somewhere over the rainbow for me to visit when I get older, and I can't help but feel a bit sad thinking about it. In that way, Makai is hell on earth.

* * *

"Sara! Hey. Sara!"

Yeah. That's my name; don't wear it out.

"Sara! C'mon, Sara; aren't you listening to me?"

Well, if by listening, you mean letting your words flow in one ear and out the other, yes. Yes, I definitely am listening.

"Snap out of your daydream already!"

What a wonderful idea, Disembodied Voice. I'll be sure to file it into the official Sara's Mental Comment Box and thoroughly review it later. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll get back to what I was—

"Fine! You're asking for it now, Sara!" The voice, after emitting a playful and energetic giggle, seemed to inexplicably grow hands right on the spot. A powerful force quickly shoved my upper body backwards, and I rolled from my sitting position backward several times like a bowling ball. Even after I regained my sense of balance and alertness, I kept laying on the ground and simply stared up at the gateway cave ceiling, admiring all of its rough, jagged indentations and outcroppings. I'll get back on my feet when I'm good and ready, thank you very much. At least, that's what I wanted to think, but my mind just conveniently slipped back to thinking about why I was in that spot in the first place.

Oh yeah, that's right. I'm supposed to be alert and on duty, acting as Makai's best and bravest gatekeeper to keep out all unwanted pests and monsters. Probably not the best time to be writing a mental autobiography of my desires, I'd guess. If I keep up this lazy habit, I'll likely become a bad influence to gatekeepers all over the world. Wonderful.

"Great, you're finally up, lazybones!" the owner of the voice chirped.

As I shook the last bit of fogginess and sleep from my eyes, I silently gave thanks to Lady Shinki that my esteemed guest wasn't Shinki herself nor her vicious, sword-tossing maid Yumeko; that could have ended pretty badly, and not on their part, that's for sure. Instead, the girl I'm sharing the short, dim, rocky passageway between the bright outside world and Makai with was someone I knew and loved.

"Kurumi!" I greeted cheerfully, the panic and shame in my stomach of being caught off-guard instantly melting away. I mean, how can you not get a goofy grin over your face when your best friend and possibly the only non-sickeningly sweet girl in the land comes and interrupts your reverie? "How long has it been?"

"What: since I last got a vacation from Yuuka-sama, or since you fell into that daydream there? Probably the same time, either way." She laughed heartily, getting her blonde hair all over her face as she shook her head back and forth. The black, bat-like wings coming out of her back also flapped energetically, just about ventilating the passageway with a nice amount of wind.

"Gimme a break," I replied with a light laugh, accepting the hand she extended to help get myself back on my feet. "Kinda hard to really get into your work when there's only either hopelessly overpowered intruders or none at all."

"Yeah, I know the feeling, believe me. Yuuka-sama usually tells me how it's not how well you do the work, but just how much effort you put in." She blushed softly and rubbed the back of her head in that cute, I-know-I'm-horribly-weak-but-I'll-still-do-my-best kind of way, and I can't help but smile at the sight. "...Of course, that's probably just because she's super good at beating up anyone who crosses her path, and loves to do so."

"I can believe it!" The day a couple of years ago she traipsed into Makai with her three friends (or whoever they were supposed to be; I'm not sure how well a greedy miko, crazy witch, nasty evil spirit, and horrifyingly sadistic flower girl get along) hadn't dulled in my mind a bit. It was nothing short of mystery to me as to why Kurumi loved that woman so much, anyway.

Before the day could be wasted with anymore banter between us, though, an unusually refined, delicate, and fancy voice cleared the phlegm from its throat from the far side of the cave. Immediately after, almost as if she were in a synchronized routine with that sound, Kurumi slapped her forehead in sudden recollection, hard enough to make a resounding, echoing smack and leave a slightly red tinge on the affected skin. Though I wanted to smirk at the sight of my vampire buddy accidentally bashing her own face too hard, the unidentified voice that had just made its presence clear triggered my inborn sense of guarding caution. The blood flowing through my veins accelerated and put me into my alert, on-duty state of mind, and I stood as tall as my short body would allow as I prepared to turn around and possibly confront an intruder.

"Hold up there, Sara!" Kurumi said quickly, sensing the tense attitude I had just adopted. "I was gonna tell you, but seeing you zoned out like that made me totally forget!" She stuck out a finger at the other end of the cave, and I could see a tall figure slowly advancing from that point. "Met up with this lady I'd never seen before as I was leaving Mugenkan to come here. Didn't seem threatening or evil or anything though, and apparently she's just a messenger from—get this—heaven! Man, can you believe it?" She nearly started hopping up and down in excitement, though I could hardly see why. Sure, a celestial courier isn't something a typical person usually sees on a Tuesday morning, but neither is a hellish demon from the underworld, and that's all I ever run into on my morning commutes!

"My sincerest apologies, miss," the approaching girl said, bowing politely as she finally stood in front of me. "I didn't mean to frighten or startle you; Miss Kurumi told me all about you when we met up, including your natural quickness to assume a defensive stance. But believe me, I have absolutely no interest in threatening or invading Makai by coming here."

"Oh?" I said, cautiously sizing her up as she stood almost directly in front of me. Contrary to the slightly faded, dusty, and drab colors of the clothes most Makai residents would wear, this lady's dress nearly seemed to shine from pure cleanliness. It wasn't easy to focus on its bare hygiene, however, when the outfit itself seemed to seriously skirt the border between fashionably elegant and just plain ridiculous. Sure, the simple white top and knee-length black skirt seemed fine, and the ribboned bowler hat over her short, indigo hair actually looked pretty sharp, but as for the shawl... What kind of lunatic needs over twenty feet of silk wrapped around their neck and flying around everywhere? Maybe it would come in handy in a super blizzard, but then, why would you need the whole thing to be as lacy as a freaking Victorian doll? I can't thank Lady Shinki enough for letting us all have free dress code; I'd probably kill myself within three days if I had to wear _that_ to work every morning.

I must have been staring fixedly at that shawl, since the woman got a surprised look in her eyes from glancing at mine. As if reading my mind, she gently pulled one length of it in her hands until she could lay it straight across her open hands, presenting it to me with a patient chuckle. "Not a big fan of my outfit, are you?"

Was it really that obvious from my expression? Kurumi, who has told me many times in the past to not be so rude and sassy all the time, shot me a glare, although her cheery mood soon put a goofy grin back on her face. Of course, much as I hate to admit it, she's right by saying that; I definitely _could_ benefit from keeping my sarcastic thoughts in check. Could you imagine if I accidentally blurted out in front of Yumeko that I think her color scheme of a scarlet dress with bright, flashy, long blonde hair would look better suited for the mascot of a fast food restaurant chain than a maid? Ouch.

"Um... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult your fashion sense or anything, I was just thinking—"

"Relax," the shawl girl said, smiling warmly at me. "I'm not offended in the least. In fact, if I were any other kind of youkai, I'd probably agree that it's a bit outlandish to wear around everywhere. But I'm not, and so this is the shawl I must wear around my shoulders."

That was a pretty strange thing for her to say, although already this girl was making a strong case for being the weirdest visitor to Makai I had seen in quite some time. Kurumi still seemed to have nothing but sunny smiles for our new friend, though, and she's usually right on the mark for distinguishing the good people from the bad. Must be something in that vampire blood. Either way, I pushed down any feelings of doubt or suspicion toward the girl and put on the best smile I could muster. "You don't say? What, is your head going to fall off your neck if you take it off?"

The scarfed girl smiled politely, although it looked as though she was trying to hide a growing impatience. "Heh heh, I certainly hope not. No, the main reason I wear my shawl is to help me read the atmosphere, float through the sky, and utilize electricity in attacks. You see, I actually don't live in heaven, although I do come from the clouds. I'm an oarfish, and such is the nature of my species."

"An oarfish?" I scratched my head, trying hard to remember what I had learned about the species of the topic. Makai school had been ages, maybe centuries ago for me, and this definitely wasn't anything more than a quick footnote my teacher night have mentioned at the very end of one of her presentations. "Isn't that the fish that lives in tropical rivers, waiting for guys to get in so it can go up to them and swim down their ureth—"

"Not a toothpick fish, Sara, an _oar_fish," Kurumi corrected me, rolling her eyes as if I had just made a bad dirty joke. I hadn't meant to, honest! Before I could say any response back, however, she reverted into her Kurumi brand Over-the-Top Cheek-Blushing Sparkly-Eyes Super Gush Mode (pending copyright). Just a word of caution: if you ever make or do anything that Kurumi would love, you'd better prepare yourself for a lifetime of fangirl affection, attention, and stalking. She must have bloodhound genetics mixed in with that vampire blood, because she _will_ manage to find you no matter how hard you try to hide. Of course, if you're a human reading this, you don't have much to worry about. She'll lap up all your blood in an instant, weep over the fact that you're dead now, and then quickly move on to her next object of obsession in a renewed sense of glee. "Swimming through the clouds, swooping down on evildoers, and blasting them with stylish electricity... You're practically like a superhero, miss!"

"Y-you think so?" The girl blushed in what looked like embarrassment. "Thank you, I suppose."

Kurumi's mouth hung open lazily, and a small trail of saliva began to dribble out of its corner. I didn't bother reaching into my dress pocket and pulling out a handkerchief to offer her. It's a bit too late for that. "I don't even know your name, but I think I'm in love~."

"B-beg pardon?!" Poor thing. She's already fallen into the vampire's dark clutches, and there's no hope for her now. She turned toward me, perhaps mostly to escape the menacing stare of affection being shot at her from the other angle. Her expression could probably be classified somewhere between an inquiry of just what the hell was happening with Kurumi and a desperate plea for help, but either way all I could do was shrug in response. Really, Kurumi's pretty much like overly energetic and jumpy dog. When house guests come over, she's going to want to get all over them and show her great affection, and even if you try to stop her, she simply won't calm down until she's succeeded in doing so. Maybe I should try putting a collar and leash on her and see how that looks.

"You're gonna stay in Makai for a while, right?" Kurumi asked hopefully, her wings pretty much beating at a few hundred miles per hour now. She keeps this up much longer, and we'll all soon be living in the lowest layer of Dante's Hell.

"I wasn't planning on it," the girl admitted, now seeming mostly exasperated by the rate at which things were going. "I just have to deliver my message to Lady Shinki, and then—"

Kurumi's puppy pout stopped her right mid-sentence, as it almost always does: a useful move, I'll admit. "Aww, come on! Don't tell me I'm gonna have to spend my vacation here without getting to hang out with the Electro-Skywoman!"

"Please, just 'Iku' is fine," the woman groaned, letting her palm meet her forehead quite spectacularly. "Iku Nagae is my name, not any strange superhero title."

"Well, we're obviously going to have to do something about that," Kurumi decided, looking deep contemplative over which super name should would be best.

"For crying out loud, knock it off already, Kurumi!" I shot her a glare similar to the one she had given me, and while it made her fold her arms sulkily, she was finally able to calm down. I turned back to Iku, who, despite her best efforts to hide it, looked as though she wanted to kiss me for finally getting her out of that trap and giving her a shot at finishing her business here within the next decade. "Sorry about that, Miss Iku. Kurumi can just get pretty clingy when she sees something she likes."

Kurumi's cheeks puffed up childishly as she turned her back to us, and while Iku winced in shame at the sight, I rolled my eyes. "Th-that's perfectly fine," Iku replied, looking as though she was internally beating herself up for not calling in sick to work today. "But thank you very much for your concern, Miss... Sara, was it?"

"Yup, that's right." There's only room in Makai for one short, rosy-haired gatekeeper, and that's me. And with my unique role and only two katakana characters in total to my name, if you happen to forget it, you're either senile or a lazy jerk. I was certainly glad that Iku seemed to be neither of those from what I've seen of her so far. "So, you said you had a message to deliver?"

"Ah, that's right." Reminded of her very purpose for being here, Iku got a pretty firm, determined look on her face. She quickly pushed the closest length of her shawl out of the way of her torso and reached into the folds of her skirt. There, clutched firmly in one closed fist, was a tremendously bright, cyan envelope sealing what seemed to be a pretty thin piece of paper within. It didn't look like there was a mailing address, return address, stamp, or, well, _anything_ on the cover, but that wasn't too surprising; sending mail between worlds in a land without any transportation is pretty impractical. "The Dragon Palace tasked me with delivering this message to the residing ruler and god Shinki in mere hours."

"Really?" I said. "Did they tell you what the message was?"

Iku shook her head, an important look in her eyes. "I was specifically instructed not to open the envelope, and also ordered to request to Lady Shinki that she read it in private."

"And it's that urgent," I noted, still staring fixedly at that sky-blue paper container in her hand. "Must be a pretty important message, whatever it is."

Kurumi giggled, turning around from her sulking position to glance curiously at the envelope. "Ooh! Maybe it's a love letter," she suggested energetically, elbowing Iku in the side playfully. "Something like, 'Dear Shinki, I'm here to ask you for your beautiful daughter Kurumi's hand in marriage. Sincerely, Iku.'" Even though Iku seemed to visibly wince from that prospect, Kurumi cheerily laughed anyhow. "Just make sure you forward a copy to Yuuka-sama too, or else she might get mad that we're eloping!"

There she goes again. I did say Kurumi is one of the few girls originating from Makai who isn't at a baklava level of sweetness, making your teeth and tongue ache after encountering her, and I stand by that. But she certainly knows how I feel about everyone else here, and so it's a rare occasion when she won't pretend to be that way just to get my goat. Yup, just keep on smirking smugly at me while you hug Miss Iku and profess your "love" for her, Kurumi. I know your attack patterns by heart, and I've immunized myself against them.

"Now, I'd really love to give you the smack upside your head that you deserve," I announced to the vampire and the girl wrapped in her arms, "but now might not be the best time for that. There's a priority message to be delivered, isn't there?"

Iku squirmed within Kurumi's arms, and after a last squeeze of the embrace, the vampire shrugged casually and released her grip. She fell onto the ground from suddenly being dropped, but quickly scrambled back to her feet and shone deeply serious red eyes. "Indeed. The Dragon Palace almost never commands messages to be sent in secrecy or in such a strict time limit. Even though I've still got a few hours remaining in the expected timetable, I think it's best not to waste much more time."

"Well, yeah," Kurumi agreed, putting a finger to her chin. "Still, is that really all they told you about it? Just, 'deliver this to Shinki, stat; don't open it; make sure she reads it alone?'"

"Just about."

The vampire clasped her hands behind her back, pacing back and forth a short distance while very slowly flapping her wings. It truly is amazing how quickly she can calm down from or get spurred into her excited state. "What if it's something bad? Like a declaration of war on Makai or something? Maybe it'd be better not to hand it over."

"Kurumi," I said, unable to suppress a sigh, "if it's a declaration of war, why on earth would it be better _not_ to hand it to Lady Shinki? So she can be completely unprepared and see all of her disorganized forces fall like dominoes?"

"Umm... umm..." She faltered in her confidence. I can't help but feel a little bad for her whenever I have to poke a giant hole in her logic; it's like I'm kicking down a sandcastle she put hours of work and heaps of pride into. Not that she put either of those into making that particular train of thought, but with the crestfallen look on her now, it almost seemed like she had. "A-all I'm saying is, we oughta be careful about this sort of thing!"

"I'm sorry," Iku interrupted purposefully, "but being a messenger is my job, not judging whether or not to send a particular letter based on its contents. I was tasked with bringing this one to Lady Shinki, and that's what I plan to do." She triumphantly began to walk toward the exit of the cavern, shawls fluttering behind her like a heroic cape, but she slowed down uncertainly as she reached the very threshold of it. "...That is, as soon as I figure out where Lady Shinki lives in here, I'll deliver it."

"Giant, scary-looking, crystal fortress and palace named Pandaemonium," I answered in a flat tone. "There's only one like it in Makai. Can't miss it."

The oarfish smiled and nodded diplomatically. "Pandaemonium. Now I remember from my instructions. Thank you! So I just need to head... this way?" She pointed eastward with a finger, but just as quickly stuck it put westward after a moment. "...Or did they say it was that way?"

"Off by 75.3 degrees," Kurumi chirped happily, running over and pushing Iku's finger into exactly the correct direction with her hand like the needle of a compass. "Not that anyone's counting. But anyway, _this_ is the right direction. Maybe I should just show you the way myself."

"Would that not be too much trouble?" Iku looked quite grateful and relieved that she wouldn't get super lost in a world of demons. "Why, thank you very much! I'm greatly obliged."

"Just so long as I can get a kiss afterward for my daring heroics and assisting a fair maiden in her time of need." Kurumi looked at both of us, hoping to get some sort of rise out of either of us, but she probably would have had a better reaction coming from saying it to a boulder. She stuck out her tongue. "Man, tough crowd. No joking around with you guys, is there?"

Iku smiled apologetically, although the lines of her face began to appear rather rigid and forced. She certainly seems to do an honorable job of staying polite and composed during her job, I'll give her that. "I'm sorry, Miss Kurumi. I'm just a bit concerned over the contents of this letter. I'd like to be done with it as quickly as possible."

The oarfish must have been surprised to feel another small, warm hand thrust itself into her own, for she almost instinctively flinched. That was clearly not a problem for Kurumi, though, and she squeezed Iku's hand tightly while pointing in the direction she had pointed out earlier. "Well then, what are we doing just standing around and making kissing jokes for? Let's get going already!" She turned her head as far backward as possible and grinned expectingly at me. "You coming, Sara?"

"Right!" I replied in a faux-energetic tone. "I'll just completely abandon my post and leave Makai defenseless against invaders from Gensokyo for at least an hour or two. Sounds like a solid plan to me!"

"C'mon," Kurumi laughed merrily, "you must've cut a work shift short at least once before! I do it all the time, and I don't think Yuuka-sama even really minds that much. You're with me on that one, right, Miss Iku?"

Again, Iku smiled politely, but her face looked greatly weighted down from stress at mention of the subject. "Sorry to disappoint, but I don't think I've ever skipped out on part of my work. The thought has crossed my mind in the past, however, I'll admit."

"Yeah, considering my employer is a _living demon goddess_, I think I'll pass on that option, thanks." Even though that means I'll be leaving Iku completely in the hands of Kurumi, it's still a better idea than abandoning my post. Besides, I'll admit I take pride in being one of Makai's finest, and I'd rather not have my image get tainted by a history of just leaving it for the smallest reasons. Not that I don't care about what's in Iku's message, but I figure if it's something so vital and urgent, I'll probably see the effects of what it's talking about soon enough in some way or another.

"All right, suit yourself," Kurumi said with a reasonable shrug. "I'll be back later when your shift's over so we can catch up on everything!" She and Iku began to stride toward the stretch of cavern opening into the heart of Makai.

I'm not quite sure why, but the entrance cave has a strange habit of always looking like it stretches out a lot longer than it really does. Because of this, it wasn't long before Kurumi's bright blonde hair and Iku's mild, indigo hair seemed to blend together into one color, although it looked like a pretty awful shade of brown. Even as this happened, though, it was still easy to hear them.

"After we get this letter delivered and all, you've _got_ to stop at this little restaurant I found a few years back. Right in the middle of Route 666, it sure doesn't look like anything other than a dinky little place, but by god, it's incredible! Stop by there with Sara on my vacation each year just to have some of the best fried clams, ice cream, and cheesecake you'll ever find in these parts. It's almost sadistically cruel having to narrow your choices down to a single item on the menu, but I'm sure we'll manage somehow, Miss Iku!"

"Clams? Really? Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to delay my return to the skies for an hour or so."

Even though a messenger from heaven was a pretty strange visitor to Makai, I was hardly worried by her presence. Everything else seemed completely normal to me: Kurumi acting as energetic and bright as ever, the cavern being slightly stuffy and humid but not unreasonably so, a faint cackle of demons and youkai coming from beyond both exits, and an atmosphere that didn't distinctively feel troubling. I know a lot of people who don't see disasters coming until it's too late and then beat themselves up over it, but really, how could I have noticed anything from that? Maybe I should have tackled Iku to the ground, ripped the envelope out of her fingers, and read its contents right then and there... but I've tried the electrocuted, singed look in my hair before. Didn't go well at all.

But I'm probably getting ahead of myself already, and that isn't what I came here to do. Greetings from Makai, and thank you for choosing us as your vacation destination! Please enjoy your stay as you tour all the beautiful streets filled with elegant, complex architecture, shops and museums acting as tasteful cultural spots, and lovely pits of hellfire and eternal festering evil. I can guarantee you'll bring back something from Makai in your heart when you depart, be it a memory of visiting the fascinating Ruins of Vina, a charming meeting with Alice in her fantastic Wonderland, or a bloodied spear. Don't forget to bring your buddies and loved ones; it's an experience for the whole family, down to the smallest unbaptized baby! You'll be screaming in horrible pain and agony when it's finally time to leave, so be sure and come back again soon!

Luize's horrendous tourism pitch aside, welcome. I'm sure Makai's an experience you'll never forget. I certainly never did.

* * *

**[A/N]:**

What's this? Another story from me? I'm surprised as you are, to be honest.

Although I've quite enjoyed writing Temporal Quintessence regardless of how embarrassingly long it takes me to write chapters for it, I have to admit that I' often feel a bit restricted in my writing by the hourly format I chose to follow for it. This story grew out of a basic narration I was writing on the topic of Makai itself on a whim, and I'm hoping that it'll allow me to be a bit more open and free in my style. That's not to say it'll involve as lengthy digressions in the narration as I've had here, but I still imagine this story will be much more character and thought-driven than the primary action I've envisioned in my other story.

Hopefully I haven't completely butchered and bastardized the ideas of Sara's and Kurumi's personalities and characteristics you've probably previously formed in your mind with this. Since this story is going to involve MUCH fewer characters than Temporal Quintessence (while others will show up from across the chapters, I don't imagine there will be any more main characters than the three we've met here), the primary development across chapters will be in their depth and characterization. So even if they might seem like unlikeable brats at the moment, my plans are to hopefully flesh them out into enjoyable characters as their development continues. I may fail spectacularly at achieving that, but I shall still do my best!

Since these chapters will definitely not be as long as the ones in my other story, I should be able to produce them at a reasonable rate. Of course, the demands and pressure of real life (particularly for a senior year in high school) have a funny way of laying waste to even the most dedicated schedules, so I anticipate there may be substantial gaps between the release of chapters at some point. But even so, I hope you'll look forward to the continuation of the tale!


End file.
